Midway through the first season, thoughts vary on the Spikes in the MLB Draft League

The State College Spikes have returned and summer baseball is back at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park after a yearlong break in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Spikes are 11-16 on the season, and in fifth place out of six teams in the MLB Draft League, a new creation by Major League Baseball and operated by Prep Baseball Report. However, it’s debatable how much records really matter in this new league, as it was created mainly to be a showcase for college prospects to show off before the July 11-13 draft.

Midway through the first season, it’s too early yet to tell how successful the league will be at accomplishing its goal of getting these players drafted. But for players and fans, the bottom line is that baseball is back.

Spikes players said they’ve enjoyed their opportunity to play in State College to boost their draft profile. For pitcher Griffin Miller, among several others, the State College experience has been just as great as being on the field.

“It’s been absolutely amazing, (as a) small-town kid from Tennessee,” Miller said. “I’ve never played in a stadium this big and this nice and definitely (in front of) this many fans so, it’s been a great time here.”

The Spikes began in State College as a Class A Short Season affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006, before switching their affiliation to the Pittsburgh Pirates a year later and then back to the Cardinals in 2013. Reports that the Spikes could lose their affiliation as part of MLB’s plan to restructure the minor leagues emerged in the fall of 2019.

In response, the team launched Save Our Spikes, a campaign to harness the community’s support. The minor league season was canceled last June because of the pandemic, and the Spikes’ involvement in the inaugural season of the MLB Draft League was announced in November.

“It’s pretty similar to how it’s been before, similar type of player, similar mission for the league developmentally but providing compensation (or players) going in,” said Spikes Director of Communications Joe Putnam. “We’re going through the growing pains, so to speak, of the first year of setting up a new league.”

While baseball is back in town for at least the next couple of years and the fans are happy to welcome the Spikes back, some opinions around the ballpark vary about whether this is a step up from days of being a Cardinals affiliate.

While some longtime fans agree with Putnam that the league is similar and enjoy watching the talent that this new group of Spikes brings to the east side of Penn State’s campus, others have admitted that they do miss the team aspect of pairing with St. Louis.

“Not being affiliated with the minor leagues anymore, unfortunately, removes that connection and, at least for me, removes a lot of that excitement,” Chris Carver, a nine-year season ticket holder, said. “I’m happy the Spikes are here, but we’ll see what we decide to do (about season tickets).”

The Spikes’ roster is ever-changing, with players coming and going on a weekly basis.

So far, the roster changes have mainly been additions, with players joining to give their final attempt to impress scouts before the draft in two weeks. The roster is expected to shake up a lot going into the final month of the season, after the draft.

According to the MLB’s rules for the Draft League, “players are not obligated to stay in the league and will go to where the drafting MLB club assigns them. Following the draft, rosters will be replenished with other draft-eligible players who want to be scouted and evaluated by MLB clubs for the rest of the summer.”

The league’s focus is mainly on the players and helping them take the next step of their professional careers, using the Spikes as the platform to reach their lifelong dream of getting drafted. The success and the future of this league could depend on how many players get drafted and in which rounds.

Steve Jones, the Spikes’ play-by-play voice, is optimistic about the future for these players and the league.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a couple of them go in the first five rounds,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of scouts here looking at a lot of different players.”

However, a couple of those MLB scouts who were attending last week’s home series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers have yet to fully embrace the league. The scouts spoke to the Centre Daily Times on the condition of anonymity.

“It’s mostly lower-round kids right now,” one scout said. “Obviously, they’d like to get some higher-round kids in here but that all depends on how it shakes out in the next couple years and once this has some success.”

Another scout said that he likes the league for this year but worries about its potential moving forward when the MLB Draft moves back to its normal dates in the first week of June.

While the jury is still out on the new league, the Spikes are determined to make the fan experience as similar as possible to previous years. The team will play through mid-August and offer familiar promotions such as Bark in the Park Nights, fireworks shows and Paint the Park Pink.

This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 5:33 PM.